Central Mali Still Bearing the Brunt of Conflict

Central Mali Still Bearing the Brunt of Conflict

As Mali endeavors to re-establish peace and territorial integrity in the North, Malians are still struggling to pick up their lives after a devastating drought, a conflict, and massive displacement.

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Donations can be made to Oxfam Canada's Emergency Response Fund

Recently Oxfam traveled to the regions of Mopti and Ségou in Central Mali to assess the most urgent needs of affected communities, and came to the following conclusions:

Thousands of people that fled the North are not returning home yet, as they wait for the school semester to end, lack the means to return, or still fear insecurity in the North. While they remain displaced, the challenges they face include finding and paying for appropriate shelter, paying for food, and the lack of healthcare available.

Host communities are also very vulnerable: they were affected by last year’s food crisis, and this year’s rice harvest has been jeopardized because of the conflict. Vegetable gardens and seedbeds have also been lost, while markets remain poorly supplied. In the meantime, many families help the displaced communities by sharing their scarce resources.

Host and displaced communities continue to share the few functioning water points, while inappropriate hygiene practices put both communities at risk. The regions lack adequate sanitation provisions like proper latrines, making the area particularly prone to cholera epidemics.

Diabaly, a town north of Ségou, is known as Mali’s breadbasket because of its large-scale rice production. This year’s compromised harvest will affect the whole country, emphasizing the need for the local population to be supported.

A large part of both displaced and local populations are traumatized by the conflict, posing an additional challenge for people to rebuild their lives.

“Displaced communities need support, but everybody’s coping mechanisms have been weakened by last year’s food crisis and the effects of the conflict. Both displaced and host communities have become so vulnerable that they can hardly manage,” says Philippe Conraud, Oxfam’s Country Director in Mali. “We are trying to assist the worst affected families while taking into account the different factors that will empower them to recover from this crisis,” Conraud added.

Once funding is secured, Oxfam will assist the most vulnerable of both displaced and host communities in the Niono and Diabaly areas, which so far have received only limited humanitarian aid. This will include livelihood reconstruction, food, water provision, hygiene promotion, latrine construction, the distribution of hygiene kits that include soap and water containers, and gender-based violence sensitization.

To date, Oxfam in Mali has provided 78,800 people in Bourem and Amderaboukane in the Gao region in the North with food, water and sanitation needs, and gender sensitization. Oxfam has assisted over 150,000 Malian refugees and host communities in neighboring Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Niger with food, water and sanitation provisions, health and hygiene promotion, hygiene kits, and the construction of classrooms.

Since January 2012, over 260,000 people have been displaced because of the conflict in Mali. More than 160,000 Malian refugees have sought safety in neighboring countries Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

Oxfam is calling for funds to provide urgently needed assistance to the most vulnerable conflict-affected communities in Mali.